80 Mile lessons

Today was a tough day...I was pumped..i was ready, I was a little nervous about the hills.  There weren't as many hills as I thought or remembered, but on the second loop, they got me good.  I was cramping in the quads, then cramping in the hamstrings, then the adductors, THEN all at once.  At one point I was looking for a place to just "fall over" on the bike because the pain was so excruciating that I just knew I would not make it to the crest of the hill, but I did.  Thanks to Maureen who came to my aid and massaged my quad....every time I stopped it would eventually get better, but it was taking longer and longer for the cramps to go away...you could see the knot of the muscle and then you could see it twitch and I could not straighten or flex the leg...I wanted to quit, I wanted to finish, I wanted to quit, i wanted to finish...and in the end, I made it to 73 miles.  And that was enough for me.

Lessons:
1. I love going fast and working it hard - unfortunately that's NOT how this race is done.
2. I need to still figure out how to get more real nutrition in on the bike. The first 44 miles were great, but as I cramped I was nauseous and dizzy. - not my goal.
3. I need to work the lower gears more...My cadence has definitely picked up, but if I had a power meter on my bike it would probably show that I was way above my FTP, especially on the rolling hills.
4. HOLD BACK, HOLD BACK, HOLD BACK in the beginning.
5. I think that I am so worried about not being able to maintain 15-16mph in Florida that I think I need to do it on the hilly rides.  The first 44 average pace was 15.4mpg, but the second loop brought it back to 13.1.  ugh!!
6. Patience
7. Patience

I didn't cry during the ride, but I was super mad at myself and disappointed.. I want ALL of that 80 miles....(but I did cry when I was talking to my brother about it...weird...just came out of no where)...

So, next week..I'm holding back, i'm going zone 2 in low gears, i'm praying for not so much wind (haha) and 90 miles will be mine!!!!

That's all. I guess every workout you learn something is NEVER a wasted workout...